The desire to pay homage to your favourite film isn't new: that's why Carnforth tea room is still packed 66 years after Brief Encounter and romcom fans ram the Empire State Building every Valentine's Day in tribute to Sleepless in Seattle. But few have followed in their cinematic hero's footsteps so slavishly as Amos Wayne Richards, a 64-year-old who was inspired to hike across the Utah desert after watching Danny Boyle's Oscar-nominated 127 Hours. That film took its title from the length of time its hero, Aron Ralston (played by James Franco), spent trapped in a canyon, swigging his own urine, sobbing through flashbacks and finally lopping off his own arm, which was pinned beneath a boulder. It turned out to be only slightly longer than the ordeal endured by Richards, who, after tumbling 10ft down a cliff this month, broke his leg, dislocated his shoulder and spent four days crawling back to his car, sustained by two protein bars and rainwater. Like Ralston, he was without mobile reception, and hadn't told anyone where he was going. Drive fans, take heed: Ryan Gosling may look cool flipping cars and stomping gangsters, but don't try it at home.